Finally, a Monday on which Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey could enjoy talking about Sunday’s game.

For the first time in more than two months, Mularkey could discuss a victory after the team’s 24-19 win over Tennessee snapped a seven-game losing streak. He saluted the fans for sticking with the team and lauded his players for fighting through adversity.

“Our guys didn’t flinch, and we just kept playing for four quarters, and we overcame a lot of things. I was very proud of these guys,” he said.

What they overcame was the Titans’ seven sacks of quarterback Chad Henne.

“I thought it was very gutsy the way he played with the number of sacks that he got,” Mularkey said of Henne. “He got hit on the first play when they jumped offsides and clearly was not a fair shot to hit an unprotected quarterback, and he stayed in the pocket, and he made some throws.”

Henne also overcame a tipped pass that was intercepted on the first play after the penalty.

“Your first throw was an interception, and we have not had a string of really good home games, it could easily affect him,” Mularkey said. “The sacks could have easily affected him, but they did not.”

Henne, who has a chance to win the starting job if he keeps playing the way he did the last two games since replacing injured Blaine Gabbert in the first quarter at Houston, is quickly taking charge and showing he is a leader.

Mularkey noted that he asked some players to get up and address the team last week about what they have to do to win. After the meeting, Henne kept the players together for a review.

“He went through some of the things he was going to [do], giving his thoughts. He spent a lot more time after the fact, after meetings, after practice when nobody was watching. We could see it happening,” Mularkey said.

Henne played poorly in his first relief appearance at Oakland this year, but Mularkey noted it was the fifth-year veteran’s first game in almost a year after suffering a shoulder injury in the fourth game of last season with Miami. Since then, Henne’s play has steadily improved. He replaced Gabbert after the fifth play of the game against Houston and then started against Tennessee after a week of practice with the first team.

“I know this as a player. The faster you can get into a game and get involved into a game, the more comfortable you are, the more confident that you are in what you’re doing,” Mularkey said. “It’s hard to come in late in the game on any position, let alone the quarterback position.”

In his last two games, Henne threw for 354 yards against Houston and 261 vs. Tennessee.

He threw a combined six touchdowns and one interception in those games with a passer rating of over 100 in each.

When Mularkey was asked what Henne is doing that Gabbert wasn’t, he said, “He’s made some really good plays for us. He’s made some good throws and some good reads. Players have made plays for him as well.”

He said Henne called some of his own plays.

“We put him in the formation and then we told him to call the best play. We’ve been doing that for all of the games,” Mularkey said. Now Henne’s got to show he can do it on a consistent basis. To do that, he will need better protection than he was given against the Titans. The Jaguars (2-9) play Sunday at Buffalo (4-7).

Mularkey said there were several reasons for the sacks, including Henne not always getting rid of the ball soon enough. Mularkey also cited poor blocking adjustments and mental errors by linemen.

“To have mistakes happen with our protection, with calls, with assignments, those are the things we’ll look at,” Mularkey said.

THEOTIMOS: BRussell had no thought that you'd do the research he suggested. Scholars have tried and none could adequately explain what they found. When several "divinely inspired" writers give differing accounts of the same event, that's called "contradiction," not an interpretation formed by a biased reader.

You wrote, "You've got to get a hold of your emotions and separate them from, instead of superimposing them on, the facts." Might I suggest you entertain the idea of following your own advice? e.g., your explanation (excuse) of Tebow's prayerful posturing and his being a victim, perhaps even a martyr for the cause instead of him being the cause. "It's the media!" Of course, it's always the media, especially when someone, by their actions, intentionally invites the media's attention.
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THEOTIMES: You didn't do the research BRusell suggested and until you do you have no standing with me on anything related to religion or the lack thereof. None. Your blustering nonsense about atheism is as ignorant as your belief system, based entirely on myths.

I have no issue at all with Tim Tebow's religion. There are many NFL players who profess religious beliefs, especially after a touchdown or even a routine tackle. They raise their finger to the sky as if there was a god "up there" giving a hoot about their play or their team. Silly, juvenile, superstitious thinking but prevalent. My issue with Tebow is and has been his making a career of his "faith" publicly, of having that public praying be his "signature move," his brand. What other player has trademarked his public praying posture? Trademarked! That leaves him open to ridicule by those of us who consider him to be a religious circus act.

As for TT's possible career as a viable NFL QB? You may have a point. He hasn't had a chance in the right circumstances and if he did he might prove his former and present coaches and pundits and other detractors wrong. Blaine Gabbert's making a career of that, just in reverse. But my best guess is, as long as TT has that Byron Leftwich wind up, he'll have a Byron Leftwich career.

To close this discussion, though not a "believer" I have close, wonderful friends who are religious, we just don't make an issue of it with each other. They understand that there has never been an act of kindness or generosity or love that a religious person has performed that has not been or could not be performed by a non-religious person. They understand it's not your beliefs or lack thereof that define you, it's your actions, your concern for others, your kindnesses.

Note that there has never been a devastating, horrific war waged in the name of atheism. Even Hitler said he was doing "god's work," (Mein Kampf) and the German soldiers had belt buckles with "Gott Mitt Uns" (God is With Us)stamped on them.

THEOTIMES: For the record, I've seen no replies from you until this one.

I am willing to accept your word that you did not instigate the booting of BRussell. My apologies.

I'm not sure what replies you made to whatever you're calling papier mache points but I no longer have any interest in your replies or your non-reply to the BRussel Easter assignment. You can't handle that one and you wouldn't be the first to eschew it. Learned men have tried and the contradictions they found have stopped them cold.

@R.W. EmersonFan - Thumbs up. You are 100% correct. The injury is the only reason Blaine is sitting. We would still be reading all the excuses for Blaine if he were playing. The guys in the paper were starting to turn on Blackmon.

STECKER: Even a blind pig finds an occasional acorn, right? A few good picks does not mitigate the bad picks and decisions GS has made over the years. If BG had not been hurt GS would still be losing with him every week. Egoistic stubbornness is not the mark of a good GM.